Author's Note: Hey I'm back for another chapter. I guess you probably new that already though! This one is written in kind of a hurry because I have to get everything ready for a bake sale in a few hours time. Bake Sales aren't my favorite kind of fundraisers, but I do enjoy the baking part. Sorry for the sad chapter and all the character death. I like all the characters and had to do it for this story, so don't hate me please! Feel free to leave me a review if you have time, it'll make my day!
Disclaimer: Still don't own the Walking Dead…
Beth entered the apartment in time to see T-Dog gun down her father, who was obviously not human any more. Tears sprang up into her eyes and she felt herself crying in shock, she never even got to say good bye. Maggie was lying on the ground with a pool of blood around her and Glenn was not a foot away from her. Carl, Rick and Lori appeared to be dead as well, and she could see an upset Daryl standing beside their bodies. Carol was crying and had a large bite on her neck, it was bleeding harshly and she didn't look like she had a whole lot of time left. T-Dog wasn't any better off then Carol, large amounts of blood was pouring down from his stomach.
Daryl looked distressed, though that was all Beth had time to think before she dropped down to her knees and cried harder than she ever had in her life. Carol put a gun to her own head and then another gunshot echoed through the apartment. Daryl helped T-Dog lean again the wall before walking over and sliding down behind Beth. She was exactly sure what he was doing until he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her body to lean against his. He let her cry against him for what felt like forever.
Beth couldn't stop crying and she wanted to be able to, Maggie and her father would have wanted her to be strong, to survive for them. She had lost everything now; she was alone in this world. They had been so well off just an hour before, sure a few of them were sick and Lori was pregnant, but they were all getting by together. Now she was going to be completely alone, T-Dog was going to die and Daryl didn't look injured, but he had rushed in there so fast and he looked so pale when he had been standing over Lori's body. She wouldn't survive on her own, no matter how much she had learned, how much she worked; no one could survive in this world alone.
Daryl rested his forehead against the back of her head; it was comforting in a way that she couldn't even begin to understand. "Ya alright?" Daryl asked in his rough accent, his voice made Beth feel a tiny bit better, at least not everyone was gone yet. She still was crying though, she couldn't stop even though she really wanted to. "You're not allowed to leave me to." She managed to choke out between her tears and she could feel Daryl tighten his arms around her. "You're not gonna be alone, I won't leave ya." He was whispering directly into ear and it was helping her. He was close, and it was comforting, even though he probably was lying. He was even rocking her slowly back and forth, like he knew exactly what would help when you just lost your whole world.
Once she was able to calm down, Daryl helped her stand up and even let her hold his hand as they walked over to the dying T-Dog. He was breathing heavily and not even bleeding so much anymore, he probably didn't even have that much more blood to lose. Daryl crotched down beside him, and bit his lip, he was clearly upset that everyone was gone and just didn't want to show it in front of Beth. Beth swallowed harshly, she wanted to ask, but was scared to hear this might be the only opportunity though, "What happened?"
T-Dog looked over at her tiredly, he looked like in the few minutes of her break down, and he had accepted and was ready for death. She never thought that anyone could be that strong, though Carol hadn't even wanted to wait, she just wanted it to be over. If Beth had been bit, would she have been able to end herself with a shot through the head? "Glenn turned and bit Maggie, she screamed and no one knew what was happening. She turned right within minutes and Hershel was hugging her, Carl turned next, bit Lori and Carol and I got bit trying to pull Rick away, but he wouldn't go. Let his boy bite him, Daryl had to put them all down. Maggie got me as I was pulling Hershel away; he was already dead by that time."
Beth took time to take it all in, she knew they had been sick, but hadn't realized just how sick. They had died and it had resulted in everyone else's death, the only thing that had saved her and Daryl was the fact that they had been outside. T-Dog looked over at her and smiled at her with a hurt look present in his eyes, "You need to burn this entire take all supplies, put all the fuel and extra fuel into the best car and then burn it all. Whatever that sickness was, you should try your best to make sure no one else catches it." He looked sure to what he was saying and though Beth wanted nothing more than to be able to bury her very much Christian father, she knew he was right. She looked away as T-Dog nodded to Daryl and then Daryl put an arrow through his forehead.
She wouldn't cry now, she had just stopped. Daryl patted her shoulder as he walked by and she followed him blindly along as they started picking up supplies. They filled up all the bottles they had and packed up every piece of clothing, even the ones that hadn't been theirs. Daryl would probably fit into Rick's clothes anyway, and they could use Carl's clothes as rags. Daryl was getting the cars ready, putting his bike on the back of a truck and shoving the bags all around it. As they cleared the apartment, Beth looked back one finally time. They spread some of the flammable cleaning products around the bodies and lit it up on the way out. Daryl was driving and Beth was able to gaze back at the blaze that had been the building they had been staying in. This was goodbye to everything she had ever known. She promised quietly to herself that she wouldn't be a burden to Daryl; she would take care of Daryl just as much as he was going to care for her.
